A delegation of US defense contractors and a former senior leader of the US Marine Corps yesterday pledged the beginning of deeper cooperation with Taiwan.
Taiwan has faced increasing pressure from China in the years since Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected president. China has poached several of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and sent military planes and ships toward the nation on a near-daily basis. It also held large-scale drills modeling a blockade and simulated strikes on important targets in Taiwan twice within the past year.
Speaking at a public forum in Taipei, former US Marine Corps Forces Pacific commander Steven Rudder said the US wants to be part of the defense capabilities of Taiwan and bolster its supply chain resilience.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
He also emphasized how critical the nation’s position is for security.
“For the Asia-Pacific, I would offer there’s not another more important area in the world to maintain peace,” Rudder told the Taiwan-US Defense Industry Forum. “So [when] you hear ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific,’ this is a small part of ensuring that shared vision remains intact.”
“We want to be part of the self-defense capabilities of Taiwan,” he said.
Rudder said the visit was within the US’ multiple agreements with China and laws related to Taiwan, such as the Taiwan Relations Act, which requires Washington to ensure Taiwan can defend itself.
The legislation was enacted decades ago when the US first recognized China and broke off official diplomatic relations with Taipei.
The event was cohosted by trade groups from Taiwan and the US as the public-facing portion of the defense contractors’ visit.
Although it was unclear whether the groups would sign specific deals, Chinese-language media reported that the US was looking at cooperation in production of certain products.
Part of that cooperation would seek to ensure that both sides can work together to use the weapons systems Taiwan bought alongside the nation’s self-produced defense capabilities.
Washington is Taiwan’s largest unofficial partner and the supplier of a vast majority of is defense purchases.
“I’ll say it very simply: The endgame is joint interoperability,” Rudder said.
A group of about 20 people protested outside.
“American warmongers are a scourge on Taiwan,” one of their banners read.
“They sell all sorts of outdated ammunition to Taiwan and make tens of billions of US dollars from Taiwan every year,” said David T. Chien (錢達), vice chair of the Blue Sky Action Alliance, which supports unification with China.
From 6am on Tuesday to 6am yesterday, 27 Chinese warplanes and a drone flew toward Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The drone encircled Taiwan proper, while seven Chinese navy vessels sailed the waters close by, the ministry said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
RSS